WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are requesting $5.1 billion to fully fund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in fiscal year 2007. In a letter to the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations, Senators Snowe and Collins, along with 41 of their colleagues, expressed their support for this important program and urged subcommittee leaders to provide advanced appropriations for the LIHEAP program for FY 2008 in order for states to plan more efficiently.
Each year, 4.5 million low-income families, including about 46,450 households in Maine, rely on LIHEAP to assist with the costs of heating their homes. LIHEAP is a federal block grant program that provides states with annual funding to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households. In addition to helping to pay energy bills for low-income families and the elderly, LIHEAP helps to fund energy crisis intervention programs, low-cost residential weatherization and other energy-related home repairs.
The following is the full text of the Senators’ letter.
The Honorable Arlen Specter, Chairman
The Honorable Tom Harkin, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Washington, DC 20510
May 15, 2006
Dear Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Harkin:
We would like to express our strong support for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and respectfully request an appropriation of $5.1 billion to fund the program in fiscal year 2007. We appreciate your strong and consistent leadership on this critical program to help low-income households address high-energy burdens.
Earlier this year, during consideration of the Senate budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 83), the Senate adopted an amendment by a vote of 51-49 to increase the funds available to carry out the LIHEAP program to $5.1 billion, the level authorized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58). Providing $5.1 billion for the regular program will help states reach a greater percentage of the approximately 34 million eligible households, and as a result, create an effective and broad safety net for those people least able to pay their utility bills.
In 2005, nearly five million low-income households, persons with disabilities, and seniors on fixed incomes across the country received LIHEAP assistance. Unfortunately, largely due to funding limitations, an estimated 28 million low-income households, or 84 percent of those eligible, did not receive any assistance at all. Without LIHEAP assistance, too many households face the impossible choice between paying home energy bills and affording other basic necessities such as prescription drugs, housing, and food. Unaffordable home energy can lead to homelessness and housing abandonment, health and safety problems, and lack of educational attainment for children.
We also request that you provide advanced appropriations for the program for fiscal year 2008. Advanced funding allows states to plan more efficiently, and therefore, more economically. State LIHEAP directors begin planning in spring and early summer for the upcoming year. Without advanced funding, state directors are unable to plan program outreach or leverage resources as effectively. Advanced funding also ensures that states have the necessary funding to open their programs at the beginning of the fiscal year in order to provide timely assistance to low-income families who cannot afford to wait.
LIHEAP also protects public health and safety by keeping families warm in winter and cool in summer. LIHEAP helps low-income families weatherize their homes, helping to lower their energy bill. Weatherization, on average, reduces heating bills by 31 percent and overall energy bills by $200 to $250 per year. With so many American households still desperately in need of the assistance provided by LIHEAP, and with an expected rise in home energy prices, increased funding for the program must be a top priority in the fiscal year 2007 appropriations process.
Thank you for your consideration of our request.
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